Biography
Misha Collins was born Misha Dmitri Tippens Krushnic on August 20, 1974. He grew up in Massachusetts. After attending the Greenfield Center School, Misha graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1992. In the following year, he pursued a wide variety of interests, including a job at NPR headquarters, a White House internship, construction work, and an EMT certification course. He then went on to the University of Chicago where he studied social theory. After college, Misha moved to Washington, DC with his girlfriend Vicky (now his wife) and started an educational software company.

Then, on a lark, Misha decided to take an acting class, and soon found himself in the midst of a career change. He got a call for a role in Liberty Heights (directed by Barry Levinson), and then landed a part in Girl, Interrupted. He moved to Los Angeles soon thereafter, and now has a substantial list of acting credits to his name (he now goes by Misha Collins), including roles on “24”, “ER”, “CSI”, “Monk”, “Charmed” and “NYPD Blue”.

Having traveled in Russia and mastered the accent, Misha has been called on several times to play Russian characters in television series—most notably the villainous assassin, Alexis Drazen, on 24. He has also appeared in seven independent feature films to date.

Misha says, “All the stereotypes you hear about Hollywood are true, but there is also so much that is great about this place. There are a lot of smart and talented people here.”

He also says, “My years at the Center School are part of what gave me the gumption to pursue a career in the arts.”

Misha can currently be seen on the hit TV series Supernatural in which he plays an angel of the lord named Castiel.

Facts
His birthday is August 20, 1974.
Years ago, he spent time at a monastery in Nepal that was full of Tibetan monks. Not only did the experience expose him to Buddhist meditation, which he still practices, but the Himalayan setting was about as physically close to the heavens as humans can get.
Misha is a published poet. Two of his poems; "Baby Pants" and "Old Bones", can be found in the 2008 edition of the Columbia Poetry Review #21.
He spent time during the Clinton administration as an intern at the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Misha's mom had been a community theater actress and a professional storyteller when he was growing up, and he would play the kid in her stories.
His mother went to Russia when she was in college. She had a boyfriend named Misha and much to his father’s chagrin she named Misha after him.
His real last name, Krushnic, goes back six generations in Canada and he's not sure where they came from, could be Russian or Ukrainian or Polish.
Misha's brother’s name is Sasha. They aren't Russian but their mom wished they were, Misha thinks.